Giacometti brothers lead Bonhams sale with two masterpieces
Diego Giacometti (1902-1985), Carcasse a la Chauve-Souris Table, circa 1965. Estimate: $300,000 500,000. Photo: Bonhams.
NEW YORK, NY
.- Two exemplary works by Alberto and Diego Giacometti will lead Bonhams Modern Decorative Art & Design Sale on Friday, June 11 in New York. The items on offer include a 1930s Tete de Femme Floor Lamp by legendary sculptor Alberto Giacometti and a Carcasse a la Chauve-Souris Table made thirty years later by younger brother Diego Giacometti. Each lot is estimated at $300,000 500,000.
Alberto Giacometti stands as one of the most important artists of the 20th century, widely known for his exploration of the human condition through bronze sculpture. Initially drawn to art and design due to the influence of his father, Swiss Impressionist painter Giovanni Giacometti, Alberto established his studio in Paris in 1922 and spent the first decade of his career experimenting with Cubism and Surrealism. In 1929, Alberto met influential dealer and designer, Jean-Michel Frank who encouraged him to work on a series of decorative artworks for his interior design projects. This led to a successful working relationship between the two throughout the 1930s; the lamp on offer is a product of this collaboration. Featuring a delicate female headthought to be his muse and lover, Isabel Rawsthorneatop on a narrow yet curvaceous base, the work is a wonderful example of classic Alberto Giacometti design.